So now that we have kid 2, wife and I are thinking about a bigger vehicle for her. Which in turn has me thinking about a smaller vehicle for me. If she gets something that will pull our camper I'll be happy to get something quick again. I still have a soft spot for my Forester XT and prefer something with a rack for boats and bikes, so i may look for another, or a WRX wagon. Certainly used as I'd rather not spend extra on a new car and would rather save and/or spend the difference on mountain bike stuff. So I thought I'd post this up like everyday driver's car debate podcasts. What are other fun to drive wagons from the last decade that can be found for $15k or less?

SUbaru is the first place my thinking goes. Even outside of the Forester / Impreza you have some interesting cars. Friend of mine had the performance edition of the Legacy. Awesome car. The Outback has always caught my interest too.

If you don't mind the possible repair bills the 328xi wagon has got to be one of my all time favorites. 6 speed stick. Inline 6 engine. AWD. Lots of space. And it's not just like every other BMW on the road. Not sure if you'll find one from 2005 or newer for less than $15k, but it might be worth a look. Though, from what I've seen the Manual transmission in that car is a rare find.

And of course there's the Audi A4 wagon. Again with the expensive upkeep. But it seems like a pretty awesome car. A3 might be worth a look too - if you don't mind FWD.

I agree that a WRX would be a great car for the gearhead with a small family and some extra coin to spend on a little pocket rocket; wagon or sedan, I suppose it's all a matter of preference rather than necessity (I mean, if she's getting something big, do you really need the extra cargo space of a wagon?). Conversely, there's also a Lancer Ralliart, which is also a sedan/hatch with comparable performance.

I can't really think of anything else that would be reliable/inexpensive to buy/cheap upkeep. Not anything terribly useful I think. I mean, It's a little ridiculous, but there's the Dodge Caliber SRT4, but I wouldn't buy that myself; performance is lackluster ( like they just dumped something more powerful in the engine bay of a regular Caliber and called it a day), and I'd rather a car that I can look back at after I park it, than a car I'd rather avoid looking at altogether.

Just throwing it out there - what about a VW Golf or Jetta TDI sportwagon. Sure, FWD. But I've had a lot of fun in the regular 5 door Golf TDI. Plus it's got the Peter Egan seal of approval, which is always nice.

But it's the Jetta SportWagen I like best, probably just for the flowing lines and all that cargo space. It was seemingly created just for guitar cases and amplifiers, useful when our garage band, the Defenders, is invited to play at Carnegie Hall or the Rock County Snowmobile Club Fourth of July Pig Roast—with free beer and deep-fried cheese curds available only at the latter.

That would not be conducive to Friday night after work paddling, where I lock ny boat to the roof rack and go straight from work to the river. Pretty much every other Friday all summer. Don't think a trailer would work in the parking garage at work.

Re: does it have to be a wagon? No, but then I'd have to shell out for a roof rack and have less room for gear in the car. I also frequently tote multiple guitars and amps around, and a wagon is easy.

Last edited by ryguy79 on Thu Apr 16, 2015 8:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

thewalrus wrote:Just throwing it out there - what about a VW Golf or Jetta TDI sportwagon. Sure, FWD. But I've had a lot of fun in the regular 5 door Golf TDI. Plus it's got the Peter Egan seal of approval, which is always nice.

But it's the Jetta SportWagen I like best, probably just for the flowing lines and all that cargo space. It was seemingly created just for guitar cases and amplifiers, useful when our garage band, the Defenders, is invited to play at Carnegie Hall or the Rock County Snowmobile Club Fourth of July Pig Roast—with free beer and deep-fried cheese curds available only at the latter.

I have considered those, but haven't looked enough to see if they're in the range I want to spend. And if they come with manuals, and can be found in the used market with manuals .

Wally, thanks for the Egan posting. Made me reconsider these. Looks like I might need to test drive one. No big rush, wife is going first since she's had her car for 8 years. But ads like this are promising.

My nephew has an Outback. 2000ish model, 2.2l manual. Not fast but I was impressed by how agile it felt. The gen between that one and the ugly current model looks really nice. Plenty of room for the kids and recreational gear.